This is a date for all Bayern fans to mark on their calendar. On 1st and 2nd August the fifth Audi Cup will take place at the Allianz Arena, and as ever the tournament features some big names. Alongside current holders FC Bayern, Champions League semi-finalists Atlético Madrid and Liverpool, currently third in the Premier League, will take part. The fourth participant will be announced after the end of the season once final league positions have been confirmed.

“It’s an important tournament with prominent teams,” commented Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti on Friday at the official presentation for a tournament which he regards as an important barometer for the new season. “It’ll be a very good test which will enable us to give a good assessment of the team.” While Ancelotti was on the stage, his fellow coaches Jürgen Klopp and Diego Simeone were beamed live via 3D hologram.

“It’s a bit strange,” said Klopp at the first ever hologram press conference. “I’m from the Star Trek generation and I feel like I’ve been beamed to Munich,” he added. The Liverpool boss is already looking forward to taking his team to the Audi Cup. “The tournament has high sporting relevance for us.”

Mixing with the best

With the tournament coming just two weeks before the start of the new season, the Audi Cup offers a good opportunity to “see where we’re at. You find that out when you play against the best teams. Bayern and Atlético are certainly two of them, it’s a great tournament,” said Klopp. “We’ll go there with a top team because we’ll be playing against top teams,” he revealed.

Atlético coach Simeone is already looking ahead with confidence two days after his side were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals by local rivals Real Madrid: “We’re delighted that we’ve been invited. It’s a testament to the good things we’ve achieved in recent years,” said the former Argentina international. Simeone also values the opportunity for his team to test themselves at a high level. “It’s a good chance for us to prepare for what we’ll face during the season.”

Two semi-finals will take place on Tuesday 1 August. The two losers will play a third-place play-off on Wednesday 2 August, before the winners battle it out in the final. The kick-off times will be 17:45 CEST and 20:30 CEST, with each match lasting 90 minutes. All matches will be shown live on ARD and broadcast to over 200 countries.

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